Commentary about works in progress, design & creativity
As you know we have been earning merit hexies in the guild. I had a few minutes before I had to get ready to go out, so I designed a layout for my 2017 merit hexies.
I used the leftover basted sandwich from the Walking Foot WOW class. I laid out my hexies in a couple of pleasing ways and finally decided on this layout.
I pinned everything in place and will begin appliqueing the hexies down soon. I might have another chance to install a zipper!
I feel like I am making good progress. Compared to last time I have added a number of finishes to my list. I have finished projects that have been hanging around and nagging at me and that feels great. I am still on that trajectory, so I hope to add some more finishes to my list during April as well.
Finished 2018 Quilt Projects
Finished 2018 Non-Quilt Projects
Doing Good
In Process
The ‘In Process’ is used to denote projects on which I am actively working or pretending to stitch. I try not to put away projects, because that will ensure I never work on them
Still WIPs
I still have WIPs. Who doesn’t, after all? A project in the ‘UFO’ category means I am stalled. A nicer way of saying UFO is a WIP. The list is a lot shorter and the projects are newer, for the most part.
Small Projects in Process
Ready for Quilting
In Quilting Process
Binding
Hunting and Gathering
Other
I bought some fabric, so I am down on net usage. Still gross usage is just over 90 yards (45 net; yes I have bought about 45 yards worth of fabric this year!). I am pleased, but I want to hit 50 yards net as soon as possible. If I could make it to 100 yards NET used by the end of the year, I would be ecstatic.
What’s on your list?
My half hexie EPP project has been languishing while I knit and sew on bindings, and do other handwork. It seems that I last posted about this project in July of 2017. I can’t believe I haven’t worked on it since then. I have been looking for the diamond papers I know I have that I will use to finish off the edges and create a border. I haven’t found them, though I did find the fabric, and that is discouraging. I want to get this done, so I start the La Passacaglia. I think it is silly to start another EPP project with this one in progress.
I found some inspiration on Instagram the other day for my languishing project, which encouraged me to get back in theswing. Pat Bravo posted about a piece made from half hexies that were arranged into triangles. I am not changing horses in the middle of the stream, but it was interesting to see.
I spent the night before last sewing some stars together and then adding them to my larger piece. The top and bottom are pretty straight. Right now my idea is to put diamonds on one of those edges to create the start of a border. The other edge (top or bottom) I will also border with diamonds, but not until it is wide enough for the bed or to be a large cuddle quilt. I am not yet sure what I will do with the right and left edges. I don’t think I can make them straight like the top and bottom, but I will try to get them as straight as possible.
This bag and the gift Sew Together Bags have been on my list for a long time. As usual, the cutting took forever. As I mentioned, last week, after the March Sew Day I decided to get busy and get these done.
I remembered, after laboring for what seemed like hours, why it has been awhile since I made any more of these. The layers you have to sew through is daunting. These are very useful bags, but a pain to make.
Last time I made some I had the following advice:
I tried out my bias advice. The binding strips still do not lay completely flat once the bag is sewn together. It could be the difficulty of stitching through so many layers.
I would also add: make sure you don’t get an invisible zipper. I had to rip out the stitching on the main zipper several times before I got it to a point where I could stand to look at it.
I am almost finished with this bag. I am working on two others and am not sure I will ever make this bag again. I’ll probably forget the drama and make more at some point when my rose colored glasses are back on.
I finally had enough cut pieces to write a post on the Fabric of the Year 2018 piece. This year I chose a 2.5″ square so I could have a realistic chance of doing the Ellsworth Kelly style layout. The size of the pieces from Fabric of the Year 2017 makes this layout realistically impossible. First of all, I don’t have a design wall large enough to accommodate such a large piece. Second, I would have to cut all the pieces down to a square and I want to work with the subway tile shape. Third, I don’t want to wrestle such a large quilt. FOTY 2017 will probably be a monster anyway and I don’t want to add to it. It seemed better to start afresh with an idea in mind.
The 2.5″ shape also means I can get pieces out of small leftovers where needed. I am excited, though FOTY 2017 being undone still drags a bit. I am making progress on my list, so I can’t complain too much.
I decided it was time to make another Sew Together Bag for my embroidery/Big Stitch stuff. I actually decided a long time ago and just finished cutting everything out on the last Sew Day at the beginning of the month.
My first Sew Together Bag is getting stuffed and I use it a lot. I might actually have to make another one for EPP as well, but that might be going too far. The point is to have everything handy in the bag so I can grab and go. this means, I need multiple pair of scissors, etc, and I am not sure I want to buy more. We’ll see.
I am using the Quilt Barn tutorials again and the process is going pretty smoothly. That is not to say there hasn’t been some ripping and bumps, but all-in-all, the process is going well. They suggest a walking foot and since I bought all those new walking feet, I decided to take their advice this time. It is nice! The zippers are causing me very little hassle.
I am working on this project very slightly. Each time I need a leader and ender, but am not working on a donation block, I put one of these through the machine. I have a fair number now.
I am only joining one octagon block to one 9 patch block at the moment. Once I do that, I’ll see where to go next. Design wall, probably, which is full at the moment.
As I said in January, I am working on getting my quilt house in order. In February’s post, I showed progress. This means I am continuing to finish projects and tidying up my workroom. I spent time the week before last reorganizing some in process projects and putting the parts into bins. I don’t have a lot of space in my fabric closet for project bins, but making some space allows me greater access to my fabric. I also made progress on some projects, which is the whole point of this exercise.
Finished 2018 Quilt Projects
Finished 2018 Non-Quilt Projects
Doing Good
In Process
The ‘In Process’ is used to denote projects on which I am actively working or pretending to stitch. I try not to put away projects, because that will ensure I never work on them.
Still WIPs
I still have WIPs. Who doesn’t, after all? A project in the ‘UFO’ category means I am stalled. A nicer way of saying UFO is a WIP. The list is a lot shorter and the projects are newer, for the most part.
Small Projects in Process
Ready for Quilting
In Quilting Process
Binding
Hunting and Gathering
Other
I’ve used just under 30.5 yards of fabric so far this year. I am pleased, but I want to hit 50 soon and possibly make it to 100 NET, not gross.
What’s on your list?
I have been cutting a lot of fabrics for this quilt. As a result, I was reminded of why I like Hunting and Gathering. I have not hunted or gathered fabrics for this project, so I have to cut fabric in order to finish. If I had done some Hunting and Gathering, I would have all of the cutting completed and be on to piecing. I don’t really like cutting a lot all at once. For a scrappy quilt, there is a lot of cutting.
Fortunately, I just got to it, listened to a book and cut away. Since the beast is so big, i can only really work on two sides at a time. In the photo, right, I am working on the top and the right hand side. While only working on two sides, I am still cutting for the left and bottom. Compared to the photo I showed you last week, you can see that this piece is progressing well. You can also see the design coming together.
I finally cut enough fabric so that I could put a couple of blocks together. I just had to do it. I felt like I was making no progress, even though I could see that I was cutting. So, I made the blocks. What a relief. Now I feel like I am making progress. It is just tedious to keep cutting, cutting, cutting all the time.
The block with the green and blue HSTs is one of the corner blocks. With the red 4 patch, you can see how the border integrates into the quilt design as a whole.
As mentioned I was able to piece two blocks. You can see the red four patches and the rest of the blocks in more detail above. While there are some duplicates, most of the border blocks are made especially for one location in the quilt. I designed the border this way, so the center motif would be finished and not cut off along the edges.
After FOTY 2016, I put the Stepping Stones n.2 on the wall. I thought of doing the Blue Gradation quilt, but I needed something relatively easy.
HA! I chose wrong. This quilt isn’t difficult and all the center blocks are finished. I need to make all the border blocks and in the design of the border, I am using the self bordering technique. This means that the border is made from blocks that, when viewed together, form a border.
I had completely designed the border, which was good and just needed to make it. I found that I had no green patches, no blue 4.5″ patches and no HSTs. Basically I had to made the whole border from scratch – cutting everything, making the blocks and finally sewing.
No problem, right?
Well, it was a little bit of a problem, because the quilt is too big for my design wall. Sigh. I have to make part of the quilt and then move the quilt over and make the rest. It is a strategy, but not an ideal strategy.
I have about two complete border blocks done, mostly because I needed to see some progress. The style of the quilt requires a lot of different fabrics, so a lot of cutting.
I finished the Triple Star top and back. The package is ready to go to the quilter, which will, once I get it there, make 4 quilts she will have of mine. I am waiting to finish another top before I take this one to her.
I used Sarah Goer’s Planned Improv technique to lay the quilt out, as I mentioned. It worked well, though I would have made some adjustments if I had a larger design wall. Some of the stars needed a bit more space. I just didn’t have the room I really needed to work.
Still, I am pretty pleased with the way it came out and am on to the next project(s). 🙂
As I said in January, I am working on getting my quilt house in order. This means finishing projects and tidying. I spent a lot of time last week doing a minor reorganization of my fabric closet. I bought a couple of project bins that will corral some of the stacks of fabric I am fighting with. I also made progress on some projects, which is the whole point of this exercise.
Finished 2018 Quilt Projects
Finished 2017 Non-Quilt Projects
Doing Good
In Process
The ‘In Process’ is used to denote projects on which I am actively working or pretending to stitch. I try not to put away projects, because that will ensure I never work on them.
Still WIPs
I still have WIPs. Who doesn’t, after all? A project in the ‘UFO’ category means I am stalled. A nicer way of saying UFO is a WIP. The list is a lot shorter and the projects are newer, for the most part.
Small Projects in Process
Ready for Quilting
In Quilting Process
Binding
Nothing at the moment
Hunting and Gathering
Other
I’ve used just under 19 yards of fabric so far this year. Not shabby.
What’s on your list?
This is a very preliminary layout for the Triple Star. I had planned to use Kim Brackett’s straight layout from the book, Scrap Basket Beauties, but the thought of that type of layout just became too boring for me*.
I decided to use Sarah Goer’s Planned Improv method to layout these blocks. I thought it would work with a quilt in addition to just blocks. I got out some graph paper, taped it together and began drawing in the blocks.
Unlike the blocks for my Planned Improv Quilt, there will be spaces in between the blocks. I am also not starting in the middle and working out, which complicates the design. I had no trouble drawing out the design, but I think this quilt will be primarily made up of partial seams. Partial seams are not hard and some people equate them to Y seams (also not hard, check my tutorial), but they are really different. I have a tutorial on partial seams if you don’t know how to do them.
Stay tuned.
*I am not implying that the layout Kim Brackett shows is bad in anyway. I just didn’t want to lay my blocks out that way.
I decided on a layout for the Triple Star quilt and needed one more block to make it look mostly balanced.
I made it mostly from the leftovers that I didn’t use in the other blocks. This makes it heavily made from warm colors. I decided not to worry about it as it wouldn’t stand out with all of the other blocks.
The Ta Dots and Stripes quilt top and back are finished and with Colleen ready for quilting.
As I said, this was going to be a donation quilt. It turned out to be much more appealing, though still an eye bender, than I thought so it will go to one of the nephews.
It is on the small size – about 45×60. I wanted a border to contain the chaos and make it a little bigger. I tried some fabric, but my IG peanut gallery nixed the idea and I had to agree. I couldn’t find a fabric print that worked and a solid was be too flat.
I tried a grey dot, which was ok, but not great. I like the fabric, but it just didn’t work with the activity of the quilt. So, no border.